I farm flowers in a Zone 3 climate, where our growing season is short and intensive, and to extend the beauty into the fall and winter, we dry thousands of stems. While dried flowers may call to mind images of dusty arrangements adorning your grandparent’s house, I assure you – they are making a comeback. This isn’t only because they can be truly spectacular when done right, they’re also the most sustainable way to preserve flowers in the starkest and coldest of months.
When I harvest for dried, I want most of the blooms on the stem to be open. I’ll bundle 10-20 flowers of the same colour and variety with an elastic band and hang in a dark, drafty, and warm space. If you want the flowers to have a more “bleached out” appearance, you can hang them in a sunny area. The cooler the space, the longer they’ll take to dry. I typically hang most of my flowers in our old barn, on strings of twine, where they stay for 2-3 weeks.
Below, I’ve outlined four different categories we use to sort our dried flowers, as well as a few of my favourite flowers!
Fillers - Your fillers, or greens, are what will give your arrangements and wreaths body; what will make them fluffy and full. My favourites include: statice, solidago, dusty miller, cerinthe, amaranthus, and larkspur.
Focals - Your focals are the star of the show – the flowers that stand out in a mass of other dried fluff. These are typically larger, more colourful flowers, or have a unique texture that make the wreath or arrangement come alive. My favourites include: peonies, strawflowers, globe thistles, craspedia, and marigolds.
Sparklers - Similar to fillers, sparklers create depth, without overtaking the focals in texture, colour, or interest. They act as a veil of sorts, as they’re typically branching, allowing you to layer the focals into the nooks and crannies to support their heads. My favourites include: cloud grass, sea holly, ammobium, and saponaria.
Odds & Pods - These flowers neither make you go “wow,” nor add anything practical but interest (which for creatives, is practical). They’re typically seed heads and grasses too bulky to be considered a sparkler, but too devoid of colour to be a focal. My favourites include: paper moon scabiosa, nigella, bunnytail grass, and poppy pods.
Bio: Nikki is a flower farmer and writer living in the middle-of-nowhere Alberta, growing specialty cut flowers on one acre of land. Through her social media and website, Nikki teaches fellow gardeners everything from seed starting to harvesting, flower arranging, and drying. Follow along @ladys.hat.farm